Adding International Flights to Its Airfare Search Engine, Google is Now a Powerful Competitor to Online Travel Agencies

Over at the offices of the various airfare search engines, they're pouring themselves a stiff drink this morning to calm their nerves. That's because the mighty Google has just added international destinations -- some 500 of them -- to the airfares listed on Google's own new search engine, which features attractive maps that you "swipe" with your cursor to consider alternative itineraries. Google's newly-expanded service also includes charts next to your desired dates of departure and return that show alternative dates when better airfares might be available.
 
You can also refine your flight search by the characteristics that are listed on the left-hand side of each page you consult (e.g., filtering by airline alliance, connection cities, or specific times). Testing the new service, which Google calls Flight Search, you can put in a sample round-trip between Los Angeles and Sydney, Australia, which normally costs $1,416. And lo and behold, you'll find you can save $300 per person by flying to Sydney on Air Pacific via Nadi, The Fiji Islands.
 
All in all, the now-complete Google search engine -- which you'll find at www.google.com/flights -- is an attractive competitor to the others, and you'll want to give it a try when you are next looking for an airfare.